402 Pipeline Rules of Thumb Handbook

Calculate bulk modulus

The bulk modulus, K, of a liquid is the reciprocal of its where

compressibility. The bulk modulus for water is K ¼ 300,000
P ¼ Average pressure.
psi. The compressibility factors for most liquids can be found
in Chapters 11.2.1 and 11.2.2 of the API Manual of Petro-
leum Measurement Standards. The following relation, known
as the ARCO formula, can be used to calculate the bulk
modulus for crude oil.
   
K ¼ 1:286 106 þ 13:55P  4:122 104 T 1=2
  Adapted from Fluid Flow Consultants, Inc., Grove, Oklahoma. Reprinted
 4:53 103 API  10:59API2 þ 3:228T API; with permission.

Nomograph for calculating viscosity of slurries

This nomogram is based on the Hatschek equation for esti- Example. What is the viscosity of a slurry having
mating the viscosity of slurries in an aqueous suspension. a volume fraction of solids of 0.06 at a temperature of 39
C?
Connect T ¼ 39
C with x ¼ 0.06 and read mw ¼ 1.1 cP on
mw the middle scale.
m ¼ ;
1  x0:333
Source
where
m ¼ Viscosity of slurry, centipoises, Davis, D. S., Brit. Chem. Eng., 4, 9, 478 (1959).
mw ¼ Viscosity of water at the temperature of the slurry,
centipoises,
x ¼ Volume fraction of dry solids in the slurry.
The nomogram (Figure 1) shows a scale calibrated in terms
of the temperature of the water instead of its viscosity. Thus,
the actual water viscosity is not needed.